A collection of podcasts exploring the culture in pop culture. Our shows range from the general (flagship show The Chronic Rift) to the specific (The Batcave Podcast). We look at literature (Dead Kitchen Radio), movies (The Weekly Podioplex), family (Generations Geek), gaming (The Cardboard Jungle), and more.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens climbed upward in the box office ranking this weekend, but it wasn't enough to keep it at the top. In addition, Ride Along 2 didn't hold the spot as well. A new movie has taken the position, but how long will that last when there are new movie releases for Febraury just around the corner? Michael Falkner has this and more on an all new episode of The Weekly Podioplex.

“Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders” was a kid’s radio show set in “the modern West.” Bobby was a 12-year-old who had inherited a Texas cattle ranch, the B-Bar-B. He and his ranch hands struggled against rustlers and other sorts of appropriately western, but mid-20th-Century, hazards. This episode prominently features a young Don Knotts playing crusty old-timer Windy Wales. In Windy, you’ll hear the roots of Knotts’ Nervous Man character, who eventually morphed in Deputy Barney Fife on “The Andy Griffith Show.” Then Bing Crosby hosts the “The Kraft Music Hall,” the radio program that solidified his place in radio history. Crosby hosted the variety show for a decade, singing standards and popular tunes of the day as well as cracking wise with plenty of guest stars. This time, he hosts young Donald O’Connor, who’s about to go into the Army. Bing open with the post-war classic “San Fernando Valley,” then he and O’Connor mix it up with “Small Fry.”

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes. We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable. Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching.

With apologies to Michael Falkner, here is the delayed release of the January 19, 2015 edition of The Weekly Podioplex. So, did you win in the movie pool concerning what was going to topple The Force Awakens from the top box office spot? Who was surprised? We've got the coverage as well as new movie and DVD releases on this episode.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues its dominence at the box office. Will it manage to make it through the month of January at the top? Michael Falkner has new movie releases that could challenge it on a new Weekly Podioplex.

"The Wail of the Siren"

Aired September 28, 1967

We met her briefly in the last episode, but now The Siren takes the center stage as the villainess of the week. Joan Collins is one of the better guests and gives one of the better performances in the third season. In fact, there is much to be praised about this story which has more of the feel of a second season story and also has one of the better Robin/Batgirl team-ups.

Joining John to discuss what many consider one of the better, if not one of the best, episodes of the third season is writer/editor Glenn Greenberg.

Glenn Greenberg is an award-winning editor and writer. He worked extensively for Marvel Comics and DC Comics on such properties as Spider-Man, the Hulk, Superman, Star Trek, Star-Lord, the Silver Surfer, Thor, Iron Man, and Dracula, as well as Web-based tie-in projects for the film Superman Returns and the weekly comic-book series 52. His work has also appeared in such publications as TIME Magazine For Kids, Scholastic News, Time Out New York, Back Issue, and Smoke. Glenn has also written several works of prose Star Trek fiction for Simon and Schuster, and is now making the jump to The X-Files for an upcoming fiction anthology that will be published by IDW. He avidly covers all aspects of popular culture on his blog, “Glenn Greenberg’s Grumblings” (http://glenngreenbergsgrumblings.blogspot.com), and welcomes anyone and everyone to check it out.)

WCRS Radio Stage returns for the new year with a new story by a new author. They present an interesting story by Michael Giorgio about a bank robbery that goes wrong and what the hostages have to do - and what they do to each other.

We start off the new year with The Jack Benny Show. Jack, Mary, and the gang are celebrating the change-over from 1938 to 1939. They survey the previous year, which included Howard Hughes flying around the world and “Wrong Way” Corrigan, who left New York for California, but ended up flying to Ireland. Then before Jack Webb was Sergeant Joe Friday on Dragnet, he was the titular hero of Pat Novak, For Hire. Pat was a sort of un-detective. He ran a boat rental place on the San Francisco Bay, but solved crimes and problems to raise extra cash. Pat’s tough guy, hard-boiled lingo is a far cry from Friday’s “Just the Facts” persona.

If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes. We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable. Visit our webpage at http://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching.

"Ring Around the Riddler"

Aired September 21, 1967

It's the 50th review episode of the podcast! And what a way to celebrate! Frank Gorshin is back as The Riddler! His latest scheme? To become the king of the ring by taking over the boxing world in Gotham...

Yeah, for this they brought Frank Gorshin back? As kids, John and his guest were just excited to see The Riddler, but they are not as loving of this episode now as adults. What's wrong with it? How has their view of it changed and how did it change from one of the earlier versions of the script?

Joining John to discuss this episode is Dan Greenfield, creator and author of the 13th Dimension website.

SLXLM​​Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod.